Apparatus for casting tubular elements



June 1951 D. R. RANKIN ET AL 2,555,993

APPARATUS FOR CASTING TUBULAR ELEMENTS Original Filed Oct. 12, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 N 1 3 s a Q 'Q\ I I ER 1 Q Q I q x K A Q 1| lNVf/VTOKQ" DAN e. BANK/N WADE ATTOE/VEV ATTOE/VE Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l/VVE/VTOFS: D/I/V 2 BANK/A MOI/IV D R RAN KIN ET AL APPARATUS FOR CASTING TUBULAR ELEMENTS 5 m 1H m mm 1 Q m mm r1 EWMM a 7 m J m June 5, 1951 D. R. RANKIN ET AL APPARATUS FOR CASTING TUBULAR ELEMENTS 3 Sheets-Sha e: 3

Original Filed Oct. 12, 1945 ///////Adrl s M w m N m .2 NH mw 147' TO'QNEV Patented June 5, 1951 APPARATUS FOR, CASTING TUBULAR ELEMENTS Dan R. Rankin, Los Angeles, and John B. Wade, Arcadia, Calif., assignors to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application October 12, 1945, Serial No. 621,906. Divided and this application February 5, 1948, Serial No. 6,486

2 Claims. (Cl. 22--58.

This invention relates to the molders art and is particularly useful in casting tubular structures.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel and efficient apparatus for casting tubular structures.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which is particularly adaptable for providing tubular linings within tubular shells.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus by which Venturi tube shells may be efficiently provided with cast metal linings requiring a minimum of machine work to produce a finished article.

Yet another object of the invention is to pro vide a molding apparatus in which a cooling medium may be applied to a core of the mold internally without substantial danger of his medium being admitted into contact with the molten metal in the mold, and while said mold is being whirled about an axis disposed transversely to and intersecting the longitudinal axis of the mold.

This application is a division of our co-pending application for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 621,906, filed October 12, 1945, and now issued as U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,445,364.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodi ment of the apparatus of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of Fig. 1, part- 1y broken away to disclose hidden portions of the apparatus, a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 being diagrammatically disclosed.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the shiftable head end of the chuck of the invention illustrating how this is shifted when introducing a mold into the chuck and when removing a mold therefrom.

Fig. 6 is an end elevational view taken in the direction of the arrow 6 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a lined Venturi tube as this comes from the apparatus of our invention and before it has been finished.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View of the right-hand 7 generally by the numeral i0.

2 end of the Venturi tube shown in Fig. 7 as this appears after the final finishing step which follows removal of said Venturi tube from the apparatus.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the molding apparatus therein disclosed is indicated This includes a table i! having legs 12 joined by a lower plate is and by a table top :4, the latter being surrounded by a wall 55. Swingably mounted on the left front corner of the wall I5 is a gas torch it and on the opposite front corner is swingably mounted a ladle rest H. The plate 13 is provided with a central bearing 26 while the table top M has a central bearing 2i aligned vertically therewith. Mounted on the left side of the table ii is an electric motor 22 which is connected by a belt 23 with a pulley 24 provided on a hollow shaft 25, upper and lower ends of which journal in the bearings 2i and 20 respectively.

The upper end of the hollow shaft 25 has a shoulder 26 which his within the inner race of the, bearing 2! and a heavy flange 21' which overlies said bearing. The bore 28 of the shaft 25 is of uniform diameter and extends throughout the length of the shaft 25 and upwardly through the shoulder 26 and flange 21. Provided in the flange 2? and leading from the bore 28 is a radial passage 29. Resting on the flange 21 is a heavy cap plate 30 having a passage 3! which connects with the upper end of the bore 28 and extends radially to the periphery of the cap plate 30. Screwed into threaded outer ends of the passages 21 and 3! are tubing connection nipples 32 and 33.

Resting on the plate 39 is an apron disc 33 and a mold chuck it, the later having a base plate M which rests on top of the disc 38 and is secured to the flange 2'! by cap screws t2 which extend downwardly through the base plate 45, the disc 38, and the cap plate 30 and are screwed into suitabie threaded holes provided in the flange 21.

Welded to opposite edges of the base plate BI is a pair of parallel chuck frame bars 43. Resting between and welded to opposite ends of these bars is a metal block 44 and a fixed chuck head 35. Provided in the block 44 is a horizontal bore .6 in which is slideably received a shaft il, opposite ends of which are threaded. The outer end of shaft ll receives lock nuts'48 and the inner end is screwed into a threaded hole provided in a shiitable chuck head 49.

Ihe block 64 also has four holes 50, opposite V annular packing 56.

which corresponding holes are provided in the shiftable chuck 49. These two sets of holes are occupied by coiled expansion springs 52 so as to constantly urge the head 49 away from the block 14. The lock nuts 48 operate as a stop to limit the response of the shiftable chuck 49 to the springs 52.

The chuck 49 has an inner face55 which is recessed to receive an annular packing 55 which is coaxial with shaft 4?. Also formed in the chuck 49 and opening centrally in the face 55 is a passage 51 which turns downwardly to threadedly receive an elbow tubing nipple 58 at its lower end. Tubing nipples 33 and 58 are connected by a relatively flexible metal tube 59.

Formed on and extending laterally from the shiftable chuck 49 are studs 66). Similar studs BI are provided on and extend outwardly from adjacent ends of the bars 43.

The fixed chuck head 45 is disposed co-axially with the shiftable chuck head is and has an inner face 65 which is recessed to receive an The head d5 has an axial passage 61, the outer end of which is threaded, and has an elbow tubing nipple 68 screwed therein. The passage 5". has an inner counter-bore .69 in which a short expansion spring l!) is mounted. Connecting the nipple 68 with the nipple 32 is a metal tubing ll.

The chuck 48 is adapted to be actuated by a toggle wrench 15 comprising a handle it which is bifurcated to provide arms .l' having notches 18 at their extremities and to which is pivotally connected a yoke 79 formed of two hooks 3i] and a connecting band 8|.

The manner of using the toggle wrench i5 is illustrated in Fig. 5. Here it is seen that the yoke 79 is allowed to come to rest on the shiftable chuck head lS so that the hooks 8t engage the studs 66. The handle 16 is now manipulated to bring the studs 6! within the notches 18. The handle I6 is now pressed down to swing this into its broken line position in Fig. 5. This collapses the springs 52 and shifts the chuck head 49 towards the stationary block Mi. The chuck heads 45 and 49 are thus separated to permit the insertion of a mold 85 between these heads. 7

As the apparatus H) is especially useful in casting liners in Venturi tube shells, the .mold. 85 is shown as including such a shell 8%. This shell has a typical long tapering bore 81 with a short outwardly flaring mouth 88 at the narrow end of the bore 827. The shell 85 is provided with a gate or pouring hole 89 which is disposed ap proximately midway between its opposite ends and when the shell is assembled in the mold 85 and the latter held in the chuck ii], this hole is disposed coaxially with the hollow shaft 25.

The mold 85 also includes a core 90. comprising a long tapering core element e: and a short tapering core element 92 which slips over the small end of the core element St and into the flared mouth 88 of the bore 87 of the Venturi tube shell 8-6 when the element St is inserted into this bore from the opposite end thereof. The core element 9i has a hole 33 disposed axially therein and extending throughout its length. The core element 92 has a bore 94 which snugly receives the small end of the eieinent 9i and is counterbored to receive a packing ring 95 and a packing follower 95 which is adapted to be pressurably contacted by the spring 10 when the mold 85 is placed in the chuck ie. The core element ti has'permanently secured thereto a sleeve Ell which is adapted to slip over and be secured to one end of the shell 86 by a set screw 98. This sleeve has an annular bead 53 which is adapted to engage the packing ring 56 to form a tight seal when the mold 85 is placed in the chuck 40.

The core element 92 is provided with an annular sleeve m8 which is adapted to slip over and be secured to the shell 8% by a set screw Nil. This sleeve has an annular bead I02 which is adapted to press against and make a sealing engagement with the packing ring 66 when the mold 85 is placed in the chuck 453.

From the description of the mold 85, it is seen that the assembly of the parts thereof provides a mold chamber ill} with whichthc pouring gate 89 communicates. It is also seen that the seals effected by the packing rings 55 and 56 provide a practically fluid tight connection between the core passage 93 and the pas-v sages 5'! and 67 in the chuck heads 45 and 65. In a manner which will be made clear hereinafter, this connection facilitates the application of a cooling medium internally to the core Qii.

The bearing 20 has a downward tubular extension M5, the lower end of which is threaded to receive an adapter Ht. Provided in the tube H5 is a threaded hole ll'i into which a pipe H8 is screwed. (Fig. 2.) This pipe leads 'to 'a water supply tank H53 which is kept filled with water, by a float control valve I25, up to a level I26 (which is just below the level of the axis of the mold 85 when held in the chuck i2? is operated by air supplied thereto under high pressure from a pipe I 28 which is controlled by a valve 529.

Pressed into the lower end of the hollow shaft 25 is a tube Mil having holes MI formed therein opposite the hole H? in the tube H5. Surrounding the tube IAQ and pressed into the lower end of the tube H5'is a sleeve M2 having packing rings Hi3 on its opposite ends which seal oiT the space around the tube Mil between these rings. The sleeve M2 has a hole M13 which communicates between this space and the threaded hole HT.

Disposed axially in and extending'throughout the combined length of the hollow shaft 25 and lower tubular extension Mil thereof is a small diameter tube I58, this being held in place at' its upper and lower ends by packing rings i5l and H2 which seal oif the space in the shaft 25 and tube I40 surrounding the central tube I59.

Operation The manner in which the apparatus is of our invention is preferably employed is as follows:

A considerable number of the mold cores 99 are provided and these'are assembled with Venturi tube shells 86 and heated in an oven to approximately the ineiting temperature of the metal with which liners for the shells 35 are to be cast. This metal may be of any type suitable for die-casting work but preferably is babbitt. When a lot of molds have thus been assembled and heated and one of these has arrived at the proper temperature. it is picked up by a pair of tongs and the toggle wrench 15 applied, as shown in Fig. 5, to retract the shiftable chuck head 43 and permit the hot mold 85 to be placed between this chuck head and the fixed head 45 and in axial alignment with these. The toggle wrench 75 is then released and removed to allow the springs 52 to press the mold 85 between the chuck heads 45 and 49. When this is done, the seals above described are effected by the packing rings 56, 96 and 95.

The motor 22 is now energized to rotate the chuck 49 and the mold 85 mounted therein about the axis of the mold gate 69. The torch I6 is then lighted and swung inwardly as shown in Fig. 1 to bear directly on the shell 86 adjacent the hole 89. The ladle rest I7 is also swung towards the center of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 and a ladle L containing molten metal is placed across the rest ll as shown in Fig. 2 and metal poured therefrom through the mold gate 86 until the mold chamber H9 is filled. The air valve IE9 is now opened so that flow of this through the ejector I21 imposes a suction on the pipe I26 which is transmitted through the small tube I50, passage 6i, tube 59, nipple 58 and passage 5 to the axial cooling fluid passage 93 in the core element 9I. As water seeks its own level, Water will flow from the tank II 9 to the pipe H5 through the holes I44 and l ll into the tube I40 and hollow shaft 25 and out of the upper end of this into passage 29, nipple 32 and tube H. As soon as a suction is imposed, as noted, upon one end of the cooling fluid passage 93 in the core element 95, a supply of Water is readily available to the opposite end of this tube. Water is thus sucked into the passage 9| and of course is converted immediately into steam. This is withdrawn from the case by the suction imposed thereon and the steam is drawn downwardly into the central tube I59 which is kept cool by the surrounding water thereby condensing the steam and creating a vacuum which accelerates the removal of the steam from the central core passage 93.

The water thus admitted to the passage 5| rapidly cools the core 90 causing the molten metal in the mold chamber III] to contract and the operator continues to pour metal from the ladle L into the hole 89 until the metal in this hole congeals.

The manner of introduction of the cooling medium into the core 99, that is by suction, eliminates the possibility of this cooling medium being forced into the mold chamber IIIJ where it would contact the molten metal and cause an explosion.

When the metal in the gate 89 has congealed, the valve I29 is closed, the torch I6 and ladle rest I! are swung out of the Way and the motor 29 is de-energized. The motor is preferably equipped with an automatic brake which sets itself when the motor is shut ofi to quickly automatically bring the revolving chuck 40 to a standstill.

The wrench I5 is again applied as shown in Fig. 5 and the chuck heads 49 and 45 separated to permit the mold 85 to be removed by a pair of tongs applied thereto. This mold is now placed in an arbor puller and after the set screws 98 and IIlI have been loosened, the core elements 9| and 92 are pulled from opposite ends of the liner I65 which has just been cast in the Venturi tube shell 86. This leaves the product, a completed Venturi tube I66, as shown in Fig. 7, free from the core elements of the mold and ready for the final finishing step. This consists in removing the annular fin I61 occuring at the juncture of the core elements 9| and 92 by a machining operation which leaves the throat I68 of the Venturi tube I66 as shown in Fig. 8.

The performance of our invention may be repeated with the apparatus I0 as many times as desired in precisely the manner described. From this it may be readily seen that with our invention, Venturi tubes I66 may be provided with suitable tubular linings rapidly and at rel atively low cost.

It is also to be understood that while our invention is especially adapted for providing linings in Venturi tubes, it is not limited to this use and may be employed for casting tubular linings in tubular shells generally.

This application is a division of the application which matured into U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,445,364.

We claim:

1. In a casting apparatus the combination of: a mold having chucking ends and being provided with a mold cavity, the latter having a pouring gate opening thereinto, said mold also being provided with a cooling hole extending there through from one chucking end thereof to the other without opening into said mold cavity or said gate; a base; a pair of aligned chucks mounted on said base, one of said chucks being shiftable relative to the other to clamp said mold between said chucks with the latter pressed against said chucking ends of said mold, there being a cooling medium passage in each of said chucks which communicates with the adjacent end of the aforesaid cooling hole when said mold is so clamped; and seals compressible between said mold and said chucks for making fluid tight connections between said hole and said passages when said mold is so clamped.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which said base and mold and said cooling hole are horizontal, and which includes a hollow vertical shaft on which said base is mounted; means for rapidly rotating said shaft, base, chucks, and mold; and means for circulating a cooling medium through said shaft and said base to and from said chuck passages to produce a flow of said medium through said cooling hole in said mold during said rotation.

DAN R. RANKIN. JOHN B. WADE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 44,521 Emery Oct. 4, 1864 876,135 Bertram Jan. 7, 1908 1,349,416 Eynon Aug. 10, 1920 1,424,627 Drews Aug. 1, 1922 1,433,763 Warn et al Oct. 31, 1922 1,675,657 Moulton et al July 3, 1928 1,987,752 Salzman Jan. 15, 1935 1,997,405 Henry Apr. 9, 1935 2,110,360 Fisher Mar. 8, 1938 2,174,904 Taylor Oct. 3, 1939 2,187,720 Williams Jan. 23, 1940 2,208,230 Rubissow July 16, 1940 2,257,475 Metz Sept. 30, 1941 

